AMMAN — In response to the high demand in the emergency room and family medicine clinics at the University of Jordan (UJ) Hospital, the hospital announced the resumption of work in the outpatient clinics as of Sunday, April 4. 

 

“I visit UJ’s hospital clinics monthly,” said Hyam Ghazal, a Jordanian in her 20s, to The Jordan Times.

 

“With the pandemic and the sensitive situation in the healthcare system, we had to buy medicine from a nearby pharmacy, which was expensive,” she said.

 

 Family medicine clinics were crowded most times, said Leen, a Jordanian medicine student who preferred to go by her first name.

 

“There were a lot of patients, but the hospital was unfortunately understaffed, which caused lack of organisation and proper history taking,” she told The Jordan Times. 

 

She explained that waiting rooms were crowded, too, and that the decision to resume the operations of outpatient clinics is expected to reduce the pressure on the hospital’s staff and provide more personalised care. 

 

The decision will be taken gradually, according to the hospital’s director, Islam Massad, who said in a press briefing that all precautionary measures will be taken when applying the decision to prevent the spread of COVID infections among patients visiting the clinics. 

 

 Maryam Arafat, a young Jordanian woman who used to visit the clinics twice a month, welcomed the decision. 

 

“As outpatients, both my mom and I used to visit the clinics regularly for our medication, since it is included in our insurance,” she told The Jordan Times over the phone. 

 

Following the new decision, Massad also stressed the need to book an appointment via the hospital’s platform online, emphasizing that no appointments can be made otherwise. Several patients expressed that the registration process on the platform is relatively easy, although finding an early appointment can be challenging. 

 

However, patient visits remain unpermitted in accordance with the government’s measures and defence orders put in place to curb the spread of COVID-19.